150 History painting [May Subd Geog] [sp2008007183]
680 Here are entered works on narrative painting that depicts several figures enacting a scene usually drawn from classical history or mythology, or from the Bible.
550 BT Painting

Ever since I started working with serials I haven’t been able to help noting some of the bizarre and seemingly unwise title changes that are all too common. Yesterday I was faced with what was probably the worst case of publisher indecision I’ve ever laid barcodes on.

At some undetermined point in history, Electronic Purchasing changed its title to Electronic Business. Then, one fine September in 1993, the title changed again to become Electronic Business Buyer. The complications involved in changing the title in the middle of a volume didn’t seem to concern anybody (except probably the catalogers who had to deal with it). Either way, that title lasted only for a mere two and a half volumes; it became Electronic Business Today in September 1995. Then (perhaps they were influenced by the fast rate of change in the industry they were covering?) the title changed AGAIN in November 1997….back to where it started: welcome back, Electronic Business! It appears that this title was finally laid to rest – or subsumed by something else – in 2007.

That’s just the most recent example. Here are some others I’ve accumulated on my list of shame:

Working women leave us tongue-tiedExecutive Female Digest became The Executive Female which became Working Woman which became Executive Female (again) which then became EF : Executive female – or is it NAFE Magazine? It seems like when things get too crazy the common solution is USE ACRONYMS. Case in point:

Training and Development Journal became Training and Development which became plain ol’ T+D.

Mo’ money mo’ problemsBulletin for International Fiscal Documentation became Bulletin for International Taxation

National Public Accountant and the PA (!?) became NPA Magazine, which became Tax Magazine. Or maybe it became CPA Magazine? Or maybe NPA and CPA have combined to form Tax Magazine?! Hopefully the next issue will bring a revelation.

Banking Law Journal split into Business Law Journal and Bankers Magazine (1964). The latter became United States Banker. But there’s two other titles that are also listed as becoming United States Banker: FutureBanker and United States Investor/Eastern banker. Now the title appears as USBanker on the cover.

We’re board with our titleManagement Record and Conference Board Business Record became Business Management Record. That then became Conference Board Record, which combined with another publication, Focus, to become Across the Board, which eventually became Conference Board Review.

Focus on peopleHuman Resource Planning became People & StrategySales & Field Force Automation became Sales & Marketing Automation which is now CRM: Customer Relationship Management. Interesting how disciplines change the way they describe themselves over time.

Did you know BusinessWeek (now Bloomberg BusinessWeek) was called System in 1900, and it was published in Muskegon, MI? Wikipedia says Chicago, but whatever. Gotta represent for Michigan, and there has to be some reason the catalogers listed that as the publication locale. Apparently it became Magazine of Business in (1929), but mostsources say that’s when “BusinessWeek” started. (“BusinessWeek up for sale.” The Online Reporter (2009:July 17):21.)

“a frivolous title change for no apparent reason and producing no advantage; the unnecessary change of an old, respected title; repeated changes, the latest being no better than any earlier ones; and the “Snake in the Grass” or “Et tu, Brute?” category for library publications.” (Serialist archives)

Librarians and catalogers could also suggest their own categories for special awards when submitting titles for consideration. Lest this all be perceived as nitpicky whining, let me highlight a good point made by Mary Curran (writing about e-serials) in the February 2008 issue of The Serials Librarian:

“Publishers should hesitate before significantly changing the title of one of their publications, not only because of the inconveniences it causes librarians and users, which are well enunciated in Louise Cole’s
article entitled “A Journey into E-Resource Administration Hell,” but also because it may temporarily influence the journal’s impact factor. ISI, now Thomson Scientific, notes this affect in reference to the 8,700
periodicals included in its database:

‘A title change affects the impact factor for two years after the change is made. The old and new titles are not unified unless the titles are in the same position alphabetically. In the first year after the title change, the impact is not available for the new title unless the data for old and new can be unified. In the second year, the impact factor is split. The new title may rank lower than expected and the old title may rank higher than expected because only one year of source data is included in its calculation.'”
-Curran, Mary. “The Worst E-Serials Tracking of the Worst Serial Title Change of the Year Award Goes to…” The Serials Librarian 53.4 (February 2008):47-57.

150 Educational films [May Subd Geog] [sp2001000481]
* 680 This heading is used as a topical heading for works about films that are intended to impart knowledge and information, including those for classroom viewing. Works about films designed to impart skills or techniques to general audiences, typically in a “how‑to” manner, are entered under Instructional films. When used as topical headings they are subdivided by the appropriate geographic, topical, and/or form subdivisions.

150 Precarious employment [May Subd Geog] [sp2009008937]
680 Here are entered works on labor that is poorly paid, unregulated, and lacks job
security.
450 UF Employment, Precarious
550 BT LaborGus Powell – from “Voetganger Amsterdam” series
for now I went with a more literal interpretation of “precarious”.

150 Crime in music [sp2009009410]
680 Here are entered works on the depiction of crime in musical compositions. General works on the relationship between crime and music are entered under Music and crime.
550 BT Music
681 Notes under Music and crime

150 Landscapes in music [Not Subd Geog] [sp2009009236]
680 Here are entered works on the depiction of natural landscapes in musical
compositions.
550 BT Music

Mood films [Not Subd Geog] [sp2008025676]
680 This heading is used as a genre/form heading for films that emphasize a mood or
atmosphere rather than a plot.
555 BT Fiction films
The record for the above heading indicates that there’s a genre of Japanese fiction film to which the term “mood film” has been applied. A friend suggested that something like Wavelength might be considered a “mood film”. However, it also seems to be a common term in the advertising field, where it refers to things like this. According to NTC’s Dictionary of Advertising, 2nd ed, a “mood commercial” is a “commercial message designed to establish a particular atmosphere.” Or perhaps a commercial that encourages you to match your fridge to your mood?

I’m including this next one not because I’m a Potter fan, but because I find it bizarre and amusing that there was probably a discussion (or a lively debate?) about whether Hogwarts should be considered a place or an organization. I guess imaginary places are as worthy of accurate subject headings as real places, or, um, organizations…?
150 Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Imaginary place) CANCEL
(C) 150 Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Imaginary organization) [Not Subd Geog] [sp 00002633]
450 UF Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Imaginary place) [EARLIER FORM
OF HEADING]

At the height of the Napoleonic Wars, the 21-year-old newly wedded Mary Nisbet, Countess of Elgin, a Scottish heiress and celebrated beauty, enchanted the power brokers of the Ottoman Empire, using her charms to obtain their permission for her husband’s audacious plan to deconstruct the Parthenon and bring its magnificent sculptures to England. Two millennia earlier, Aspasia, a female philosopher and courtesan who presided with her lover, the visionary politician Pericles, over Athens’ Golden Age, plied her wits and allure with equal determination, standing with him at the center of vehement opposition to his ambitious plan to construct the most exquisite monuments the world had ever seen.

In parallel stories that resonate hauntingly, Aspasia witnesses the dramatic events that lead to the construction and dedication of the Parthenon, and Mary Nisbet witnesses that same magnificent building’s deconstruction and demise.

According to pugsinformation.org, a series of pug figurines created by German sculptor and porcelain modeller Johann Joachim Kändler served as a secret emblem for an underground German Freemason lodge, the “Mopsorden” – the “Lodge of the Order of the Pug”.

Jesse Higman – “Spiral”
“This Wave Painting was poured on a table specially constructed to curve the flow of water. You can still see the hole in the canvas at the apex of the spiral. For the texture, I mixed a special Golden medium called GAC which lists as a precaution that it may cause foam if stirred aggressively. I use an egg beater to mix. The “paint” I use contains tiny mica flakes which give the painting an iridescent sheen. As the foam bubbles make their way along to the hole, they collect particles of mica which make tiny islands.” -from the artist’s website

…for the moment MARC remains central for libraries. In large measure this is due to the installed base of library systems, which expect and work well with this data exchange format. This will continue to be true until the next generation of discovery and inventory systems are in place. But its limitations are increasingly clear. […] This will undoubtedly change over time, but for now, most libraries will continue to need cataloging records delivered in MARC format—it is the only usable solution.
There remain strong arguments for use of standard cataloging principles‐‐‐controlled vocabulary, classification, subject analysis, and authority control—packaged and delivered in a consistent format. While MARC records may need to be extended, embellished (supplemented with full text, flap copy, excerpts, user tags), for now they provide a common standard and a cooperative infrastructure that controls costs. In the long term, there may emerge better solutions. For at least the next 5‐10 years, however, continued savings can be realized by improvements to the production and distribution systems for cataloging records.

I especially liked the diagram on page 32 depicting the traditional and non-traditional “tiers” of organizations involved in the larger information resource market.

ShelterIt – My digital think-tank: On identity is a great post on the future of cataloging. It touches on a lot of issues I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this semester. So far I’ve only closely read the fun section on what cataloging could look like in the future (this was mentioned on Cataloging Futures, which is how I got to ShelterIt). I dig it. Tomorrow with a fresh brain I will dig into the namespace ontology RDF stuff. One thing I learned in library school: there are some blog posts out there that should be required reading.